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A New Book by Paul A. Offit, M.D. Dispels Autism Myths

Dr. Paul Offit, a leading vaccine expert, confronts those who support potentially harmful yet futile autism treatments in his new book, Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. He chronicles how trial lawyers, journalists, celebrities and other alleged medical experts have exploited and misled parents of autistic children influencing them to pursue often dangerous, unproven and unscientific treatments. As Dr. Offit explains, the false information being generated about vaccines is leading fearful parents to opt out of vaccinating their children entirely, putting their children at an even greater risk for preventable - and potentially deadly - diseases.

As former first lady and cofounder of Every Child By Two, Rosalynn Carter declares, "Every child has a right to be vaccinated against deadly diseases. We started Every Child By Two to protect children from diseases. It didn't occur to me that I would also have to protect them from misinformation about life-saving vaccines. Dr. Paul Offit's book sets the facts straight."

In Autism's False Prophets, Dr. Offit recounts the history of autism research and illustrates how some have manipulated science in the popular media and courts around the country. He exposes the alternative therapies that purport to "cure" autism, many of which can actually hurt children with autism and undermine the childhood vaccination programs that have been proven to save millions of lives.

While much money is thrown into suspect cures and vaccine liability claims, Dr. Offit argues that funding should be directed toward social services, education for autistic children and more productive paths of autism research. Dr. Offit has pledged to donate all profits from the sales of this book to autism research.

Paul A. Offit, M.D. is the chief of Infectious Diseases and the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.